


Gossip, Gifts, and Friendship

by PolyPairings



Series: The Arbiter, The Medic, and Inter-Species Relationships [3]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Arbiter x Reader, Character Cameos from another Fandom, Developing Relationship, Elites | Sangheili - Freeform, Friendship, Gender-neutral Reader, Halo 5 Guardians Timeframe-ish, No Beta - We Die Like Badasses, Other, Sequel, Thel 'Vadam x Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolyPairings/pseuds/PolyPairings
Summary: Sequel to Blood, Bandages, and that Prick Peters.
Relationships: Thel 'Vadam | The Arbiter/Reader
Series: The Arbiter, The Medic, and Inter-Species Relationships [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615108
Comments: 20
Kudos: 90





	1. Gossip

_Friday, July 16, 2556_

Once again, you find yourself contemplating the pros and cons of a cup of coffee. You try not to drink it often because then it’s more effective when you do drink it, but sometimes you need it. Like when your eight hour shift turns into a fourteen hour shift and you still have to get up at 5am for your next shift. 

You’re staring off into space and are so dead to the world that you don’t notice your friend Desmond until he loudly plunks his tray onto the mess hall table across from you. You refocus with a start, and glare at him with all your combined grumpiness and irritation. 

He just smirks and gives a little wave. 

“Somebody’s grumpy,” he chuckles. 

Rebecca appears by his side not long after and you internally groan. Rebecca and Desmond are both wild cards, and together they are both master pranksters, scheming gossipers, and overall little shits. AKA, more than you want to deal with right now. 

With any hope, Shaun or Lucy would join you, but you know for a fact that Shaun is probably cursing out Fireteam Crimson for trashing the last pelican they used. And Lucy is doing some ONI bullshit. Lucy is Desmond’s impulse control, and Shaun is Rebecca’s. You’re too tired for this shit. 

Rebecca sits down next to Desmond with a shit-eating grin. 

“Gee, (N/N), and ya wonder why no one’s sitting at this table,” she says. 

You flip them both off. “My eight hour became a fourteen hour, give me a break, you little shits.”

Rebecca snickers and starts on her food, while Desmond leans his head onto one of his hands. There’s a glint in his eye, and you recognize his gossip mode. 

“Maybe they’re scared of you because of how you devastated Peters yesterday,” the soldier says conspiratorially.

“Ohhh yeeaah,” Rebecca drawls. “People have been talking about that. Shaun said it was about time someone handed his ass to him. Lucy said you were badass.”

You push your finished tray towards Desmond, who happily takes your unfinished food. “She did not. And how did you hear about that?”

“I have my ways,” she says boasts. 

Desmond takes pity on you, probably because you bribed him with your food. “Lucy said she was impressed with how you handled the situation,” he says. “And Alex told us.”

Rebecca punches him in the arm. “Ow,” he whines. 

“Don’t be a baby,” she says. “So what made you finally get rid of him?”

Desmond scrunches his nose. “That guy’s always been a prick.”

You cross your arms defensively. “I didn’t ‘get rid’ of him. He’s young, so I gave him another chance. Sent him to sensitivity training.”

“Yikes,” Desmond winces. 

“That’s embarrassing,” Rebecca adds. 

“Yeah, well,” you briefly feel enraged again. “He let his xenophobia get in the way of his job.” Your eyes flash in anger for a moment, before you sigh and relax again. 

Rebecca and Desmond share a glance. “So it’s true he disrespected the Arbiter?” He asks. 

“Yeah.” You frown. “I thought Alex told you.”

Rebecca waves a hand. “You know how Alex is. They’re a gossiper.”

“So are you guys,” you point out. 

Desmond puts a hand to his chest and Rebecca gasps in fake offense. “We’re _accurate_ gossipers,” they exclaim together. 

You roll your eyes, but acknowledge that they have a point. Alex likes to gossip like they’re in one of their telenovelas. 

“I wonder,” Rebecca leans her head on a hand, “if there’s a nugget of truth to the _other_ thing Alex said.”

You give her an unimpressed look and raise an eyebrow. You don’t take the bait, and she pouts. 

Desmond eyes you both for a moment before ‘innocently’ mentioning, “Did you hear that the Arbiter has decided that he and some of the extra Swords of Sanghelios are going to stay aboard the _Infinity_ for a while?”

“He is?” You perk up, immediately thinking about his promise to see you some time today. Desmond grins triumphantly at you and Rebecca grins mischievously. You fell for the trap. Dammit. 

“Alex said you and Arbiter seemed to be getting pretty close,” she smirks. You clam up. 

“Ooooh,” Desmond teases. “Does our resident badass doctor have a crush on the Arbiter?”

You blush. “I think that’s the answer to your question,” Rebecca adds on. 

You cross your arms defensively. “I don’t talk about your crush on Spartan Tanaka, you don’t talk about my crush on the Arbiter.”

Rebecca flushes, and whacks Desmond on the head for laughing. You grab your empty tray and stand up while they playfully trade insults. 

“I’m going to my shift now, assholes,” you grumble. 

“Aw, (Y/N), you know you love us,” Desmond says as he flutters his eyelashes. 

You snort, then sigh. “Yeah. I’ll catch you guys later, alright?” 

They chorus your goodbyes, and you’re on your way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess what fandom Desmond and Rebecca are from?


	2. Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is canon that Sangheili wear either some form of robes or tunic and pants when they don’t wear armor. When they train out of armor, they often wear only a loincloth, since they don’t have external genitalia. They’re like lizards in that sense.

You’re almost done with your shift, and it’s been generally quiet so far. There’s only been follow-ups from patients from yesterday and some minor injuries from a couple accidents.

The Arbiter hasn’t visited the medbay yet.

Which you’re totally not grumpy about. Or disappointed. Nope, not at all. You’re just tired. (Or so you keep telling yourself.)

You glance over at the curtains you put up earlier today as you idly do inventory on medical supplies for the third time. You had gotten some questions and weird looks, but you passed it off by saying the medbay might be getting a VIP patient today. That caused a quiet storm of gossip, which you’re blaming Desmond and Rebecca for. They move fast.

You finish up the inventory and contemplate what else you could do to occupy your time. The only longer-term patients already have assigned care-takers, and there’s no temporary patients for you to care for or help the junior medical officers with.

You could always take your break. You usually take it sooner, but you had waited to take it out of worry that you wouldn’t be in the medbay when the Arbiter arrived. Maybe you should wait some more?

You suddenly realize that the ambient chatter in the background is gone, and the only sound you can hear is that if machines. Turning to see the cause, you allow yourself a small grin when you see a pair of Sangheili bodyguards by the door. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Your mind spins off on a brief tangent over the possible racism (speciesism?) in referring to alien allies as devils, even if it’s from a popular saying. That thought process breaks off as soon as you catch sight of the Arbiter. You can see why people were staring, now.

The Arbiter isn’t garbed in his customary golden armor, but rather a black tunic with brown pants. The tunic is sleeveless, and reveal his muscular arms. The pants are close-fitting, and his legs are obviously toned. You’re glad you’re not going to have to hassle with his infuriating chest plate this time, and you have to admit he looks _good_. You do wonder why he is wearing fabric clothing when you’ve never heard of him wearing anything other than armor. You figure you’ll ask, if you can.

His eyes scan the room as the chatter starts again, and land on you. He dips his head in greeting.

“Dr. (L/N).”

From what you’ve read of Sangheili culture, bowing the head is a sign of respect. You bow your head towards him, and smile.

“Arbiter,” you greet.

He takes that as permission to approach and does so as you turn to get the bandages, ointment, and cleanser you had set aside for him. His guards stay as close as possible, and you merely observe the difference in their behavior before moving on.

“If you would follow me,” you say politely before leading them over to the curtained area. You hold it aside for them to enter first, and the Arbiter nods appreciatively.

The guards follow him in, and stay firmly by him as he situates himself on the edge of the bed. He begins undoing the belt around his tunic as you pop out of the curtain to wash your hands and don a fresh pair of gloves. When you return, he’s shirtless and his tunic is folded on the bed beside him.

You frown at the faint purple stain you see on the bandages and step forward to begin gently removing them. This time, you move to the sides of the Arbiter as you unwind the gauze so you’re not pressed flush against his chest again.

The Arbiter has been silent so far, just watching you with his intense gaze. You don’t mind that, but feel slightly self-conscious with the guards still in the room. Once you get down to the larger gauze pad covering the injury, you pause and grimace at the amount of dried blood on it. You had thought this might happen, so you’d brought a small wash bottle with saline solution to wet it, but you’re still unhappy about it.

“What have you been doing?” You eye him critically. “You should be resting, or at least limiting physical activity with this wound.”

You begin soaking the stuck gauze pad with the saline as you talk.

The Arbiter gives a low chuckle. “I made an attempt to, however there were matters that required my action.”

He looks amused, and you look at him questioningly. The guard on the left speaks up.

“There was another assassination attempt on the Kaidon last night,” he says.

“Oh,” you say. You don’t need anymore explanation. As a doctor who treats a large variety of people, and now species, you’ve researched into different cultures and religions that might affect your work.

In Sangheili law, a Kaidon is elected by a family’s council of elders. If an elder disagrees with the appointment, he can hire someone to attempt to assassinate the Kaidon. If he succeeds, no action is taken against him, as it is then believed that the Kaidon was weak and not suitable for ruling. If the assassination attempt fails, the councilor is executed, and their family is usually banished from the Keep. The Kaidon rules until he dies, or is killed. If he is killed, the killer becomes Kaidon. If he dies, succession falls to either the husband of a Kaidon’s daughter, or a new Kaidon chosen by the elders.

“Have you discovered which elder councilor ordered it?” You begin carefully peeling the saturated gauze pad away from the wound.

The guards look at you with some surprise, but the Arbiter looks pleased. You see neither reaction, as you’re still focused on your job.

“You know of Sangheili culture?” The question is posed by the one on the right this time.

You glance up as you put down the bloodied bandage and reach for the saline bottle again to clean up the rest of the dried blood.

“Well, yes. I make it a point to learn about the people whom I may treat, so I don’t offend anyone or break any of their religious observances. I know about everything from human religious observances to the Unggoy culture of nipple-brothers,” you say.

You ignore the quiet conversation spoken in Sangheili and decide not to mention how rude it is to talk about someone right in front of you. You only know a few words in Sangheili, but you swear the Arbiter sounds smug about something.

“This will sting,” you quietly warn the Arbiter after the conversation ends. The deeper parts of the wound have already started healing thanks to Sangheili nature. It looks good; no discoloration or swelling, no sign of infection.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” You ask after another short period of silence. “Against further assassination attempts,” you clarify.

A brief pause, then the guard on the left speaks up.

“Yes. Do not discuss the Kaidon’s condition with anyone other than us, and let us know if any Sangheili ask you of this.”

You nod, but then make a realization. “May I know your names, then?” You absent-mindedly put a hand on the Arbiter’s shoulder as a comfort as you start cleaning the deeper parts of the wound. He doesn’t make any noises this time.

The guards share a glance, then wait for you to finish cleaning the wound and look up at them.

“I am Honor Guard N’thito ‘Sradum,” the one on left says.

“And I am Honor Guard Khova ‘Kraralumai,” says the one on the right.

You nod your head respectfully at them and smile. “I am Senior Medical Officer Dr. (Y/N) (L/N). It’s nice to meet you.”

They nod back, and Khova says something to Arbiter in Sangheili.

.:I approve of your choice, Kaidon:.

You don’t know what he said, so you just get the ointment and continue treating your patient.

There is comfortable silence up until you have to wrap the new bandages around the fresh gauze pad. You don’t want to do what you did last time with the guards in the room, it would be embarrassing. Maybe...

“Would either of you mind washing your hands and helping me wrap the gauze?”

They exchange glance of silent communication, then N’thito steps forward. “I will. Where do I do so?”

You pull aside the curtain slightly and point to the sink across the room.

“Use the blue soap, and make sure to keep your hands above your elbows when you dry them. Thank you!”

“You do not wish to do what you did last time?” The Arbiter looks mischievous and smug. Smichievous? Smugchievous?

Your cheeks slightly flush, and you give him a light glare.

“What did you have to do last time?” Khova looks amused.

You blush harder. “His chest was almost too broad for me to reach around, so I had to get, uh, creative?”

You’re saved from further humiliation by the re-arrival of N’thito, who raises a...non-existent eyebrow? Skin ridge? At what he walked into. The Arbiter’s chest is rumbling with laughter under your hand holding the gauze pad on his chest as you explain to N’thito what he’s supposed to do.

Wrapping up the wound goes a lot faster this time now that you don’t have to struggle to get the gauze around his chest. N’thito is very efficient, and before you know it you’re taping it into place.

“All done,” you announce with a smile.

“Thank you,” the Arbiter says. He holds eye contact with you for a little longer than necessary before turning to talk to his guards in Sangheili. You begin gathering up the trash as they file out, both nodding respectfully at you.

The Arbiter stays, taking his time putting on his tunic and adjusting it.

“Dr. (L/N),” he says to get your attention.

You turn around, then blink in surprise when you notice he is standing near you. You hadn’t even heard him move. “Yes, Arbiter?”

He bends his head down lower so you don’t have to look up so far to make eye contact.

“Due to the assassination attempt on the _Harmonious Resolution_ , I will be staying on the _Infinity_ until my wound is healed,” he says. “As you are my chosen primary physician, I would like to get to know you outside of this medbay.”

It takes a second for you to realize what he’s saying. Your face heats up as you think about it. Does he mean in a romantic sense, or a platonic sense? You need to know. You decide to ask. If he says platonic, then you’ll be embarrassed, but you’ll get over it. You are a professional, after all. If he means in a romantic way, or at least a prequel to that, you’ll absolutely accept.

His eyes are still on yours, waiting for you to reply.

“Like...like a date?” Your voice is uncertain, yet hopeful.

Arbiter chuckles a little. “If that is the human term, yes. Meetings to ascertain the possibility of courtship.”

Your eyes widen a little at that. Courtship is a bit of a big deal in Sangheili culture. But you do like him, and you want to see how this goes.

“Yes,” you decide. “I’d like that.”

He smiles in his alien way, more with his eyes than with his mandibles.

“This is your territory, and while you know of my culture, I know little of yours. What would you like to do on our, ‘date’?”

You hum, thinking a little. Getting something to eat together might be awkward in terms of the mess hall being in public, and there’s no shore leave planned for anytime soon. There is one thing he might like...

“Have you seen the park before? I could give you a tour.”

You hope he’ll like this idea. The _Infinity_ ’s memorial park is a sizable recreational area, with its own self-contained biosphere, including flora and fauna. It’s larger than parks on Earth, and has its own activity centers and an artificial skydome. It also has some garden plots for growing fresh food. It’s your favorite place on the Infinity.

He flexes his mandibles, thinking. “I have heard of it, but I have not seen it. I would enjoy you showing it to me.” He pauses, then gestures towards where N’thito and Khova went.

“My guards would still accompany us, however. Would you still like to meet with me?”

You smile up at him. “I don’t mind. I know how important you are,” you lightly tease. There are always 24 Swords of Sanghelios members onboard the Infinity, alongside 17,000 humans. There’s no surprise that his Honor Guard would be unwilling to leave him.

“Excellent. I have little to no duties tomorrow. Would you be willing to meet then?”

You nod. “I have a short day tomorrow. My shift ends at 2. If you come in around then, we could leave after I change your dressings?”

“Yes, that will do.” He offers an open hand to you, which you take. He holds it, and gently squeezes your hand. “I must go, now. They have no doubt finished ‘securing the exit’.”

He releases your hand, and you nod at him. “I will see you tomorrow,” you say.

He gives you one last respectful bow of the head before taking his leave. You watch him go with a fond smile on your face. You can hear people gossiping and see some looking at you after they leave, and you turn to the nearest group.

“What,” you snap with an irritated look on your face. They immediately look away, and the chatter loses some volume. You roll your eyes, but allow another private smile when you turn around to take down the curtains.


	3. Gifts

_Saturday, July 17, 2556_

The next day you are both anxious and looking forward to the date. Anxious for normal date stuff, yes, but also because you screwing this up could mean bad things for the whole of Sangheili-Human relations. Something you hadn't even thought about until Desmond oh-so-helpfully pointed it out. You told him to fuck off. Shaun joined you, him, and Rebecca for breakfast and also told Desmond to fuck off. Shaun didn't hear or care about what Desmond said, he was just happy to have a chance to tell Desmond to fuck off. Upon Desmond pointing this out, he and Shaun devolved into their usual argument, complete with a cartoon cloud, the sound of a cat yowling, and Rebecca egging them on. (The cartoon cloud and cat yowling wasn't real, of course, but that's the best way you can describe their spats.) You put your head down and pretended you didn’t know them until Lucy joined you. Their fight was successfully deescalated by Lucy grabbing them by the ears, pulling them away from each other, and tiredly telling them to stop acting like children.

Rebecca's "Yeah Shaun, Desmond, stop acting like children" was reprimanded in a similar manner.

When Lucy finally sat next to you and asked if they'd been giving you trouble, you said "I have never met these people in my life" with a deadpanned expression. ("Hey!")

Breakfast was much more peaceful after that. Not to say it was peaceful, but more peaceful than it was before. Which is to be expected when one is friends with actual toddlers in adult bodies and exactly two brain cells in the whole of the group, which are held by you and Lucy respectively. Desmond whined and Rebecca acted offended when you said this, but not Shaun. Shaun has a ghost brain cell that sometimes is there and sometimes is woefully absent. It was present at that moment in time.

("That doesn't even make sense, (Y/N)."

"Yes it does, you just lack the brain cell to understand it. Was I not clear enough?"

"Fuck you."

"You wish, bitch."

"*sigh* Children, please.")

Needless to say, breakfast with the disaster group (minus Lucy) successfully distracted you from your dilemma. That is, until Lucy so kindly reminded you that your date could either further or destroy Human-Sangheili relations. How Lucy knew about said date when not even Alex managed to spread that gossip? That's some ONI bullshit that you do not want to investigate.

So, that lovely revelation during breakfast, which was seven entire hours ago, was adding to your anxiety. Since you had nothing to do and no one who needed help at this moment in time, you were allowing yourself to freak out a bit. You had not allowed yourself to freak out during your shift, because you are a professional dammit and you are never going to put someone's health in danger from some pre-date worryings. It was quiet, though, since 1:30 is one of the lunch shifts and people are too busy eating. It's usually quiet during lunches, as everyone is too busy eating to get hurt. Except for that one time when someone was choking and a Private got a little too enthusiastic in finally getting to put some of his medical training to use. Cracked ribs for a piece of accidentally-inhaled bread is not a fair deal.

You had a feeling that the Arbiter would come before the end of your shift. Both because he is a gentleman and also because you needed to check his bandages. You had even got clearance to leave before your shift ends. Some Spook had dropped by and "kindly" informed Dr. Chakwas that you were to leave whenever the Arbiter needs you to. (Dr. Chakwas hadn't even flinched on the intrusion of her med-bay. Dr. Chakwas is a BAMF and everyone knows it)

You glance at the regulation clock on the regulation-grey wall to see that not even a minute has passed. Typical.

If this were a fanfiction, Arbiter would magically appear as soon as you finished that thought. But you have been staring at the door for the past fifteen minutes and there ain't nobody. No, you have to wait a painstaking 8 more minutes before you hear heavy footsteps (hoof-steps?) in the hall and see Khova check the room before letting the Arbiter in.

His presence is as commanding (and gorgeous) as ever, but your eyes narrow a bit. He is wearing a cloak over his tunic and pants, which isn't that strange as the ship is usually chilly. What _is_ strange is that he is injured. He hides it very well, but you have experience. You know it when you see it.

You walk over to give him your greeting, and stealthily take inventory of his person.

"Arbiter," you say with a nod. Your eyes flick over him and find possible locations for injuries, before flicking over to Khova and N'Thito to do the same.

"Dr. (L/N)," he acknowledges with the same nod. His eyes are on you, and he can tell you noticed the injuries.

You gesture to the curtained-off area as your eyes roam his Honor Guard. There. N'Thito is holding his arm just so, to hide any hint of his blood from others. You lead them all to their "room", before moving to get your supplies. On top of the usual supplies you'd get to change the Arbiter's bandages, you get extra disinfectant, gauze, and you slip a sealed suture removal kit in your pocket just in case. No one notices any difference.

You pop into the curtained "room", where they've been speaking quietly in Sangheili and drop off the supplies. You ignore any questioning gazes and give them a smile that doesn't reach your eyes before leaving just as quickly to wash and glove your hands.

Once you return to the room, you clap your hands together and smile. "So! Does anyone want to tell me what happened?" Your tone and face seem cheerful, but there is a subtle edge to your voice and glint in your eyes.

The Arbiter has his cloak and tunic off, and there are some random slices on his arms and torso. N'thito shifts his arm further to hide his injury. He and Khova seem to be a bit unnerved, but the Arbiter is steady as ever. His eyes are searching you, trying to determine what you're thinking.

"There was...an accident," N'thito finally says haltingly. "A Seraph and Pelican collided and caused a small explosion."

Shaun mentioned nothing of the sort, and said Naval engineer loves to complain. He would absolutely send a message to your Datapad, which you would have checked in your free time. They are obviously trying to save face, or keep something under wraps. There must be some fear that you would gossip or spread the information to your superiors. They should know better.

"Oh?" Your tone is still cheerful, and your smile widens as you raise an eyebrow. N'thito is definitely uncomfortable now.

"There was another assassination attempt," the Kaidon says. Your face morphs into a serious one as you meet his eyes. For him to be injured by an assassin does not bode well for his position as Kaidon. That must be why they were so hesitant to tell you what really happened.

"The fact that you were obviously hit by shrapnel is strange, then. I thought only hand-to-hand assassination attempts are considered...kosher," you say as you cock your head in confusion.

"You are correct," Arbiter says. He seems amused, and pleased. "This attempt was not 'kosher'. There was a bomb planted in a Seraph I was to be inspecting for Covenant influence."

"It was a cowardly attempt that lacks both honor and thought," Khova adds vehemently. At the Arbiter's nod he tells you the rest. "We were able to trace it back to a member of the Swords that transferred to this ship recently."

"Did you find the elder councilor who ordered this?"

"Yes," N'thito says.

You hum. "I'm assuming they're both going to be killed?"

At his nod, you grin again, startling him. "Excellent." Your cheerful tone is momentarily back. You turn serious immediately afterword, and you can tell he and Khova are, if not intimidated by you, then creeped out. The Arbiter is ultimately amused.

"Who would you like me to treat first, Kaidon?" You address the Arbiter directly. "You, or N'thito?"

Any other time you'd treat the Arbiter first, but as far as you can tell, he has no shrapnel stuck in him, just some scratches. If N'thito has shrapnel in him, you'd like to get it out first. And since the cuts on Arbiter's arms are already dried, that means that it's been some time since the shrapnel was imbedded.

The Arbiter nods approvingly at you as he says, "N'thito."

"Kaidon," N'thito begins to protest but is silenced with a look. N'thito looks at you, since he's smart enough to know that on Human ships, the medical personnel generally have the last say as rule. You have personally seen Captain Lasky cowed by Dr. Chakwas.

"I defer to the Kaidon's judgement," you say respectfully with a nod and a small, but real, smile. "Now sit, please."

He does so, next to the Arbiter on the (reinforced enough to hold a Spartan in Mjolnir) bed. He easily and quickly removes his gauntlet to show you his injury, right where you thought it was. And just as you thought, there's a small grouping of shrapnel stuck in the inside of his forearm, as though he had held his arm in front of the Arbiter to protect him. The tech suit is lacerated, and a bit shredded in some areas. The gaps are large enough for you to treat him, saving you from having to go through the long process of removing armor and tech suit to get at it.

You pick up a saline bottle and wash the blood away to see the wound better, then go about fixing him up with the suture removal kit. The shrapnel is removed with the sterile tweezers, and thankfully it's shallow enough to only bleed a little. They must have been farther away from the Seraph when it exploded. No stitches are needed, and they're all shallow enough to treat with MediGel*. You even clean the bit of dried blood from his gauntlet and vambrace for him, which he seems grateful about.

As soon as you are finished, his gauntlet is quickly put back on and he stands to go back to his position. You leave the "room" to wash your hands, change your gloves, and stealthily dispose of the now contaminated removal kit. As it takes a few minutes to find an opening to dispose of it without anyone seeing and to get ready again, the Sangheili have a brief conversation.

.:I'll admit, Kaidon, I had my doubts about your courting a human,:. N'thito says. .:I seem to have been proven wrong:.

.:I agree,:. Khova says. .:Dr. (L/N) is respectful, and knowledgeable of our culture. They are not weak in confidence or maturity, and have shown that they wish for you to be protected:.

.:I have told you,:. Arbiter says, .:My intrigue with them was not based on fantasy. They have the makings of a good partner:.

.:The aid this courtship could give us in Human status and politics is also not to be missed,:. Khova says.

The Arbiter nods in agreement as you return to the "room" to your patients.

Fixing up the Arbiter goes fast, as he is a very good patient and you're comfortable with each other. His cuts are cleaned and ointment is applied, and Khova helps you with the bandages around his chest. The silence is peaceful and a bit thoughtful on their part as you work. When you are finished, the Arbiter dresses as you get rid of your used supplies and gloves. When you return, you notice he is holding a small box. And since it's small to you, it looks tiny in his hands.

He offers it to you, and you take it with some confusion. "What's this?" You smile curiously.

He gestures for you to open it as he explains, "I have noticed that your hands are dry, and sought out what might help with it."

Inside is a tube of lotion, one of the good kinds, the super moisturizing and healing ones. It's an incredibly sweet gesture.

"Thank you," you smile softly at him. "I didn't get anything for you though, I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Nonsense. Your company is enough."

Your cheeks warm a bit, and you’re very pleasantly surprised by his thoughtfulness.

You don't really want to carry it around the park though. "Do you think I could stop by my quarters to drop this off? I wouldn't want to carry it around the park and drop it on accident or anything." You think you've got a pretty good idea of how Arbiter is, so you don't believe he'll consider that an invitation for anything. He doesn't.

He nods, "I will join you if you do not mind. I have wanted to see how Human military structures their quarters. If you are comfortable coming with me to change into something less stained, I would be happy to show you the way my people structure our barracks."

You smile at him. "I would love to."

After you find a volunteer to clean up the curtains and bed you used, you and Arbiter leave and walk down the halls, side by side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *MediGel is a thing in Halo, it isn't just in Mass Effect. It can heal cuts, bruises, and burns in 5 minutes. I'd guess that it could not immediately heal larger or deeper cuts, or very bad plasma burns though. (Source: [Halopedia: Optican: MediGel](https://www.halopedia.org/Optican#MediGel) )
> 
> I didn't mean for just the medbay scene to be this long, but it just kinda happened. As such, I'll probably add the date as a new work in the series. Please let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Can you guess what fandom the characters Desmond, Rebecca, Lucy and Shaun are from?


End file.
